GU Student Occupation

On Wednesday 8th December 2010, students of Glasgow University occupied the university theatre at Gilmore in protest of the cuts to the welfare state in general and to education in particular. Speakers including student activists and trade union officials, spoke of the need to voice concern and prevent the measures that will lead to an elitist education system and greater inequality in society. Arriving at 1pm, the student were initially shut into the building before organisers secured freedom of access to the building, when it became clear to the authorities that the protest was peaceful. Reportedly, around 30 or so students stayed the night on the university premises and many today attended protests which coincided with the MPs vote on education cuts. Parliament today voted to raise the upper-limit which universities can charge for fees in England to £9,000 by a narrow 323 to 302, but protests such as our own have been happening all over the country hae largely been backed b the public and are set to continue in the figt against austerity. Jonathan Nicholson was there to capture the 21st century version of student activism, amidst all the Tweeting, Facebooking laptops, and bags of supplies from the local exhausted Tescos.